Ontario teachers wage freeze legislation could trigger election

TORONTO — While Ontario’s Liberal government struck a new labour agreement with francophone teachers Thursday, attempts to impose a wage freeze on teachers this summer could trigger a general election if it can’t convince the opposition parties to let the bill pass.

AEFO, which represents 10,000 teachers, is the third group to break ranks with other unions by accepting a deal with the province.

Education Minister Laurel Broten said the two-year agreement is similar to the one reached with the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association and the Association of Professional Student Services Personnel, which represents workers such as librarians, psychologists and speech pathologists.

It includes three unpaid professional days off in the second year, which the government said will help it battle a $15-billion deficit. It also freezes pay rates, but teachers will still be able to get pay hikes if they move up the salary grid that rewards experience and upgraded qualifications.

But school boards and teachers still need to reach local collective agreements under a government-imposed deadline of Sept. 1.

If they’re not reached within three weeks, the old contracts would automatically roll over into the new school year — something Broten said the province simply can’t afford.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has threatened to recall the legislature for an emergency session to impose a new contract on teachers if they can’t reach agreements with local school boards by Sept. 1.

“We’ve worked long and hard and been sincere and earnest in our efforts to work with our teaching partners, but at some point in time you’ve got to act,” McGuinty said after touring a school in Windsor.

“And respect for the collective bargaining process cannot be used as an excuse to do nothing,” he said.

The NDP are running faster than Usain Bolt away from any government measure that would address public sector compensation

The cash-strapped government has been trying to negotiate a two-year wage freeze with more than one million public sector workers to eliminate a $15-billion deficit by 2017-18.

Neither McGuinty nor Broten would say whether the legislation would be a confidence motion, which could trigger a general election barely a year after the last one.

Liberal sources said it was “premature” to talk about declaring any legislation to deal with teachers a confidence motion, which would automatically spark an election if it was defeated.

McGuinty admitted he won’t be looking to the New Democrats for help in passing legislation that imposes a wage freeze.

“The NDP are running faster than (Jamaican gold medallist) Usain Bolt away from any government measure that would address public sector compensation,” he said. “They’re afraid of that.”

The New Democrats warned any legislation that imposes a contract on teachers would be challenged in the courts.

“We know that simply imposing a deal with legislation will lead to a long court battle that will leave people paying more,” said NDP critic Jonah Schein.

The Progressive Conservatives want a legislated wage freeze for all public sector workers in Ontario, but said they couldn’t agree to support a bill they haven’t seen.

“We have not been approached in any way, shape, or form with any suggestions that the legislature will be coming back or any proposed legislation that we may be looking at should that happen,” said Tory critic John Yakabuski.

“We hear all kinds of stuff in the media, but the premier, as is his usual way, has not contacted us at all to discuss what the possibilities are prior to that Sept. 1 deadline.”

The government spent five months trying to negotiate contracts with the large teachers unions, before telling school boards they had just four weeks to negotiate local deals based on the one agreement the province did reach with English Catholic teachers.

That deal allows up to 40% of younger teachers to move up the pay grid, but requires teachers to take three unpaid days off in the second year, a move the government said offsets the cost of the raises for the younger teachers.

The Tories said the OECTA agreement, which was also accepted by the union representing 10,000 Francophone teachers Thursday, is not really a pay freeze because many teachers will still get raises.

“The premier said they have to have a wage freeze in order to balance the books,” said Yakabuski. “He’s not gotten that.”

The Toronto District Catholic School Board has accepted the province’s deal with teachers, but others are reportedly pushing back and asking for conciliation. They include school boards in Windsor and London where McGuinty spend his day Thursday touring schools for the fourth time in a week.

The NDP are warning that imposing a deal on teachers and school boards could lead to a long court battle that will end up costing the province even more.

“We need an agreement that works and we need teachers in the classroom not a premier who tours empty schools in a desperate bid for votes,” New Democrat Jonah Schein said in a statement.

The Progressive Conservatives, who favour a legislated pay freeze for all public sector workers, say the deal doesn’t really freeze wages for many teachers. It allows 35 to 40% of teachers to get pay hikes by moving up the salary grid, the party said.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, representing 76,000 members, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, which has about 60,000 members, and the Canadian Union of Public Employees oppose the deal.